Rank the Young Bond novels

Books Other Continuation Authors
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This week’s rankings will deal with the Young Bond novels.

So how do you rank them? My order is as follows:

  1. BLOOD FEVER – (Charlie Higson) – Young James Bond accompanies some of his fellow Eton classmates on a school trip to Italy and finds himself crossing paths with an art theft ring. Colorful characters abound from the undaunted Amy Goodenough and the impassioned Vendetta Benetutti to the piratical Zoltan The Magyar, the Joker-like-looking Smiler, and the super-clean fanatic villain Ugo Carnifex. Bond faces danger on all sides and comes out of it stronger than ever. Really entertaining story.

  2. HEADS YOU DIE – (Steve Cole) – On holiday in Cuba, Bond tries to locate a family friend who has suddenly disappeared and encounters the powerful Audacto Solares aka Scolopendra and the mysterious La Velada. His investigation leads him to uncover a conspiracy to take down the British government. Great story. Never a dull moment.

  3. DOUBLE OR DIE – (Charlie Higson) – Another good story by Higson, this one finds Bond and his Eton pals solving cryptic crossword clues to find a missing professor. The answers lead Bond to London and a Soviet operation to use the professor to create a powerful computer. More great characters here led by Bond’s good friend Perry Mandeville, the coldly calculating Irina Sedova, and the dangerous brother duo of Ludwig & Wolfgang Smith.

  4. RED NEMESIS – (Steve Cole) – Bond teams up with an old pal, Adam Elmhirst, to head to Russia to get answers about his parents and learns he must go back to England to stop the Soviets and the return of La Velada from creating a catastrophe on greater London. Anya Kalashnikova is a solid Bond girl who develops more determination from her time with Bond. La Velada’s henchman Mimic is a terrific henchman who can perfectly copy anyone’s voice and does so to great effect. He’s one of the best secondary henchmen in the series.

  5. BY ROYAL COMMAND – (Charlie Higson) – Here we have it, the story where Bond gets involved with the Eton maid. And it’s a solid story too, involving a plot to assassinate the King of England. Bond encounters old adversaries and new ones as well as both old and new friends in a story that marks a turning point for our Young Bond. And that maid, Roan Power, makes for an entertaining Bond girl. Bond really comes of age in this one.

  6. HURRICANE GOLD – (Charlie Higson) – While Bond is staying with a friend of his aunt’s, industrial spies arrive on the scene and attempt to steal valuable plans just as a violent hurricane enters the area. Soon, Bond, a friend, and two kids are kidnapped by the spies. Eventually, Bond and the girl Precious Stone arrive at a criminals’ island from which there is supposedly no escape. But then, they never encountered someone like Bond. Memorable characters include Manny The Girl, Strabo, Charlie “Whatzat” Moore, and El Huracan.

  7. STRIKE LIGHTNING – (Steve Cole) – Bond meets steampunk. Admittedly, while not my favorite Young Bond story, this is not as bad as it might sound. Bond and his pal Perry investigate the death of a friend at Fettes and soon find themselves stowaways on a boat to the Netherlands. There they hear of a “ghost train” and learn they must stop the Nazis from getting a powerful new weapon. Great characters include the plucky Kitty Drift, the zealous Herta Axmann, and the creepy Hepworth Maximilian Blade.

  8. SILVERFIN – (Charlie Higson) – The first Young Bond novel. I had my doubts about the Young Bond series when I first heard about it, but Higson took it, ran with it, and made the most of it, resulting in a very surprising and satisfying series all things considered. This one sets up everything in the Young Bond world from his staying with his Aunt Charmian to first attending Eton. Bond grows up a lot in this one, learning some of the skills that he will go on to use in the future. This story finds Bond uncovering a plot to develop a special serum to create super soldiers. The most noteworthy characters are adventurous Red Kelly, the blustery Randolph Hellebore, and the cruel Cleek MacSawney.

  9. SHOOT TO KILL – (Steve Cole) – Bond and a select few of his friends are chosen to fly on a dirigible to Hollywood, CA, as part of a school trip. Along the way, Bond discovers a snuff film and traces it back to a Hollywood mogul who’s intent on snuffing out Bond. The story is ok, but it’s my least favorite of the series. Memorable characters are Hugo Grande, Boudicca Pryce, and the indomitable Tori Wo.

So how do you rank the Young Bond novels?

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Havn’t read Cole’s books, despite having loved his other writing, but ive been re-reading Higson’s since his new Bond novel was announced. Unfortunately only have By Royal Command and his two shorts digital. Will need to fish out the rest…

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Same here, haven’t had a go at the Cole run. But Higson’s books are a joy, not just as ‘prequel-continuations’ of Bond but as adventures in their own right. Plus, Higson develops his Bond believably in a direction we just can imagine Fleming’s might have experienced in his past before the war, before joining whatever outfit fed its personnel into the drab corridors of the Secret Service and led Bond to Royale-les-Eaux.

As per usual, ranking these books isn’t really my thing. But as a body of work they rank among the better - the best actually - continuations, also because the initial premise was highly controversial and Higson succeeded against the odds (and my initial scepticism, I’m not ashamed to admit). All five of Higson’s Young Bond tomes are splendid reads, great, suspenseful fun. I do, however, have a soft spot for By Royal Command, mainly for private reasons. On the last pages you have effectively the Bond that would a few years later pop up in Fleming’s œuvre.

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I finished my reread a few weeks ago and was surprised to find how quickly each successive book in the series picks up right off the heels of the last one. The whole collection is essentially one big story, and its success as a singular entity makes it hard to decide on favorites.

A few more quick thoughts: The ending of By Royal Command was surprisingly heartbreaking, at least to me, and to squeeze out that kind of emotion is a huge achievement for what we’re talking about here. These stories were ahead of their time in their empathy, and often break free of the YA label by dabbling with serious violence and mature themes. The discussion Bond has with Mr. Merriot in BRC that touches on the grayness of political systems, from communism to capitalism, and how each is loaded with its own contradictions and thirst for power, was shockingly nuanced. I loved the dreariness of Silverfin, the surrealist streak of Blood Fever, the murky atmosphere of Double or Die, and the blazing intensity of Hurricane Gold as well. I cannot wait for King Zero.

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You should give Steve Cole’s run a shot. He did a good job carrying on from Charlie Higson. I find his first one, Shoot To Kill, the weakest of his bunch, but it still has its moments, and the rest of his run–especially Heads You Die and Red Nemesis–is really solid.

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I will. TBH id paused reading By Royal Command when i moved house in 2008 then only finished it before On His Majesty’s Secret Service came out.

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I got half way through Shoot To Kill back in the day and remember the airship sequence just dragging on. I felt Higson books were enough excitement for a very young version of Bond - plus By Royal Command concluded things well without the need to pad it out further.

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That was why I haven’t yet read any of Cole’s Young Bonds. Higson delivered such a perfect package in every respect it seemed unnecessary to spin the idea further. I guess IFP may have been surprised themselves how successful the concept would be and realised belatedly they needed to expand the series.

Also, it’s really stretching it if schoolboy Bond grows up fighting for his life 24/7 and battling villains that rival - surpass even? - the ones Fleming thought up. Bond should have at least a bit of a ‘normal’ youth, however brief that’s going to be.

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